Clearing it Up

Posted Friday, November 27, 2009, at 12:29 PM

I felt after the restart of my particular blog that some things needed to be cleared up. I have been accused several times on every single blog that I have written of believing that I was right on everything and everyone else was wrong. Sorry, if you think that, but that isn't this blog. I never assume that I am right on anything. That is why I am constantly researching what I am writing about to lessen the chances that I am going to be wrong on a certain topic. From time to time I have been proven wrong and in those cases I have acknowledged that I was wrong and apologized for being wrong. But even then those acknowledgments come with a caveat. It all depends on who you inform me that I am wrong. If you are one of the posters who only seem to be on here to constantly degrade everyone that has a different opinion than you then I am likely not to acknowledge anything you have said. If you are one of the posters that believe in actual debate where one side offers their side and then vice versa I very often will admit when I have been wrong.

There is a difference in my madness. My goal on here is to present a view that otherwise would not be presented in this region of Nebraska. I make every attempt to back up my views with facts. Sometimes I miss some, but one thing I do not, and will never, do is revise history. True historians or at the very least those who love history report history as it has happened. Political scientists and sociologists are generally the group of people that come back around and try to analyze what history is telling us. For those that believe that any part of American History that is talked about or taught that is negative are trying to convince people that America is evil that is your opinion. The only reason I talk about the negatives is in the hope that we can learn from our government's and country's mistakes and not do them again. The reason that both the negative and positive is taught in schools is to give students a fully rounded view of American History. The negatives, contrary to belief, are not focused on or given more status than the positive. Both are given equal time. It is my opinion that as a president George Washington was great but as a general he was horrific. I tell that to my students but I also tell them that is my opinion and that they should do their own research to figure out their own opinion on the man.

I have often been called emotional when it comes to my chosen profession. I understand that the people who have said this were trying to insult me and embarrass me but they failed miserably. I am emotional when it comes to my profession as I am sure you are emotional about yours. Seriously, if someone isn't emotional about what they do what in the world are they doing in the profession? This also goes along with my passion with politics. I know that originally on this site the word emotional was meant to embarrass or shut a person up. But I take it as a badge of honor. If something I have said causes you to attempt to shut me up then hey call me emotional. This is just one of those words that people have tried to saddle on liberals throughout the years. The list, which is partial, includes: emotional, the l word, elitist, evil, un American, librul (which I have to admit isn't all that inventive). The only problem is that all these words that have been meant to shut liberals up have actually been turned into positives for liberals and new words have to be invented. But I digress. The profession of education is one of the most thankless jobs in America; and judging from comments on this website from bloggers and posters alike that description is very true. The idea that people will absolutely tear a profession apart because of rumors they have heard is truly disheartening. Yes teachers do technically get a week off in March, summer off, and about two weeks off for Christmas, but the truth is any teacher worth their salt doesn't spend much of their time off not working. In the summer, teachers will go to conference after conference to improve their teaching. The two weeks in December are actually spent preparing for the rest of the school year. Students get a lot of one day holidays throughout the school year, teachers however do not. Most of these one day holidays are actually set up for teachers to be at school learning to be better teachers. Those who start school to become a teacher for the breaks typically don't make it to the second year of schooling. Getting into education for the money is also another myth. Most teachers will have to work 10+ years before they even get to make 40,000 a year. I didn't get into school because I wanted a lot of holidays or so I could make a butt load of money, I got into teaching for the chance to shape a young child's life and make learning for them fun. Any teacher worth their salt does not take their politics or religion into the classroom. We are actually taught in school that the two things a teacher never brings up are politics or religion. Any teacher, whether they are conservative or liberal getting into the profession simply because they want to ingrain their political ideologies on their students needs to find another profession.

Here's the bottom line on education. If you truly do not like the education system in this country do something about it. Every five years or so a new idea is presented as the key to a better education, and as I said this happens every five years or so which should tell you that these new ideas eventually run out of steam. Don't present isolated cases of education gone wrong and assign it as running rampant in education. That is one of the easiest things to do, to be honest, taking an isolated case of something wrong and assigning it as being rampant. Those that do that typically have nothing else to back it up but will continue pointing to that isolated case as the only proof they need. I am a strong advocate of all teachers so don't think you will be able to brow beat me into submission just because you keep using outdated information or rumors or data from sources that are questionable. I know there are teachers out there that fit the mold of the horrible teacher but it is neither rampant or an indication of all teachers.

I try my hardest not to denigrate people who have differing opinions than my own. Sometimes I fail and as I have said I am working on that. After all, it is a lot easier to stoop to the level of someone calling names and using unacceptable language than it is to stay above the fray. I have always lived by the mantra, "You have to give respect to get respect" and I really believe that especially on this blog. I do not think conservatives are evil or are out to destroy America. Unfortunately there are those on this site that do believe that just as there are conservatives on this site that believe that all liberals are evil and their only goal is to destroy America. Neither is the truth for the overwhelming majority of both groups. There are those unfortunate souls whose hatred of those with different ideologies so blind them that they will do anything to prove their point even to absolutely knowingly lie about those people. There are those that I will attempt to debate to attempt to find a common ground. Unfortunately some of these people have no interest in finding common ground and simply want to call names and use unacceptable language. After all, for some, they live by the mantra "If you yell over the other person their viewpoint can't be heard".

I want this blog to truly be a blog that posters can come on and just debate their beliefs. If your only go is to come onto this blog and call names, use unacceptable language, or try to change the subject when your point has been proven wrong, please find another blog to go to. There are plenty on this website to choose from or just start a new one. The publishers of this website are always looking for new bloggers.

Contrary to popular believe, I am not on here to lambast or condescend or question the loyalties of those with differing viewpoints. But I will call out hypocrisy of, well just about anyone (for instance when conservatives complain that a conservative woman politician is being treated unfairly and then are silent when a Democratic woman senator is called a prostitute and "hooking" or when liberals complain about the Bush Administration not being transparent and remain silent when the Obama Administration does the same). I'm not on here to denigrate conservative no matter how much you think I am. You will never see anything that I have typed calling and conservative: evil, un American, anti American, America hater, wanting to see America fail, or non-American. I will however call out hate whenever I see it. Hate doesn't simply fall into race it falls into everything. My request and advice to all posters that routinely read this blog is that when you encounter another poster that is not interested in debating but rather attempting to pull other posters to their level by personally attacking them just to ignore them don't even respond to them. Typically these people (which in the world of the wide web are called flamers) tend to disappear when no one is responding to what they say. Hopefully if all of us work together to hold a serious debate together this blog will become a great place to come and debate ideas.

As I said from the very beginning once the blog was restarted I will keep all posters responsible for their language. This is not an adult website, so any language that you wouldn't use around a five year old don't use it here. If you do expect to be flagged for removal. On other blogs that I write stay on topic. If you notice that I have gotten off topic call me on. For this particular blog there is a hodgepodge of information so I will stay off your backs for this particular blog. Take some time to read the Terms of Service for posting on the blogs. I will still stay on everyone to stay within the guidelines of the Terms. If you do not expect to be flagged. This is my blog that the publishers of mccookgazette.com are allowing me to post on this website. I own the blog; therefore it is my responsibility to keep everyone on topic, using family friendly language, and within the guidelines of the Terms of Service. You can say as much as you want that I or the publishers of the website or violating your first amendment rights but that is not the case. You can't agree to the Terms of Service guidelines, violate them, and then complain that your rights are being violated. It doesn't work that way.

I still revere that red-headed "School Marm" who was my teacher from First to Eighth in that one-room prairie school.

When the roads were totally muddy, she would park about 6:30 a.m. at a ranch on the graveled highway, and walk the two miles into the school, fire up the pot-bellied coal-fed stove in the middle of the room in winter, carry buckets of drinking water from the hand-pumped well, possibly bring in new books for the "library" and be at the door greeting students when they arrived with muddy boots.

A high school English teacher, our Vocational Agriculture Teacher/FFA Advisor, the incredible science teacher who was also the bus driver on our route.

Several cow college teachers and professors -- one sociology teacher, an ag engineer, a U.S. history teacher, even a totally wrong-headed Chemistry professor, and a "for sale" botany professor [Take him an old clock or watch and guarantee yourself an "A" -- honest to Gawd], one competent Ag Communications professor who joined the faculty my last two years -- died just a few years after I left school. One great English Lit. teacher, the eventual University President, athletic director and even the university sports publicist. A Genetic prof and one animal husbandry professor.

Funny, how we remember the great teachers, even if we did not have any classes with them.

They were a presence and force on campus/

I can't even remember the mediocre ones.

We've all heard the caution, "If you can read this, quit cussing teachers."